Sylvia Reviews

Maharis plays a private detective whom Lawford hires to dig up the shady past of his fiancee, Baker, now a successful poet. Starting with her poetry and leading through various points across the country, Maharis learns that Baker started out as a prostitute after being raped by her stepfather when she was 14. She escaped from a life on the streets by blackmailing a customer and then wisely investing the money. A variety of colorful characters are interviewed, giving Maharis a picture of a woman he has yet to meet; when he does he falls in love with her, refusing to tell Lawford the truth he has learned about her past. But Baker exposes herself to Lawford, then decides that she cannot marry him and hooks up with Maharis instead. Baker is not as sophisticated as the part calls for, but Maharis' subdued, sensitive performance and the various character actors carry the picture.